Mixed feelings over Marsa feast cancellation

Marsa residents have mixed feelings over the Curia's decision to cancel the feast of the Holy Trinity following differences between the external festivities committee Trinità Mqaddsa and the parish priest.

Residents in the church area lamented the cancellation of the annual feast as a sad occasion, a missed opportunity for business and greatly disappointing to emigrated Marsin who booked their holiday for a family reunion to coincide with the feast, which would have been held on Sunday.

However, an elderly lady who lives close to the Holy Trinity church said she would again miss the feast but perhaps wise counsel had prevailed because it would have been risky to celebrate given the present circumstances. The feast had also been called off in 2001.

"It was better not to hold the feast than celebrate and risk more trouble and division," she sighed.

Outspoken members of the external festivities committee squarely put the blame for the cancellation on parish priest Fr Manuel Abela who, they charged, wanted to change the statute of the committee without members having any say in the process. The barman at one of the local clubs said he did not wish to enter into the merits of the dispute, adding however that he suspected that the root of the issue was hard-headedness.

When approached at his office, Fr Abela said he preferred not to comment. He said he would stick to the Curia circular which he had read out to parishioners in church.

The Church authorities had noted when announcing the decision earlier this month that the external festivities organisation, formed by the parish priest years ago to assist him in the organisation of the feast, was acting in an independent manner, sometimes against the will of the parish priest himself.

The Curia said that, motivated by a sense of responsibility towards the common good and public order, it felt it was in duty bound to call off the feast.

In a leaflet, the external festivities committee had accused the parish priest of breaching the previous arrangements for the running of the feast.

The Holy Trinity Band of Marsa expressed regret at the disagreement between the Curia and the parish priest on one part and the external festivities committee on the other, which led to the cancellation of the feast. The band committee said it sympathised with Marsa residents, who were being deprived of the feast they loved so much. It declared it had no blame in the issue.

Holy Trinity Band Club president Anton Cassar said in a statement the band gave its full support to Fr Abela in his work to ensure that the feast would be celebrated in calm and peace.

The band club recalled that in November last year, the Archbishop's Curia announced that the external festivities committee Trinità Mqaddsa was no longer recognised by the Church because it was ignoring the stand taken by the parish priest who was "the ultimate authority within the association".

The parish priest had then announced he would make the arrangements to organise indoor and outdoor festivities to celebrate the feast of the Holy Trinity. But in the meantime, the band club added, the committee issued various statements attacking the parish priest and distributing them to parishioners and the media.

The band club said that in view of this and fearing that there was a serious threat that there could be trouble if the feast was allowed, the Curia decided to cancel it.